CMWKSD -Chapter 245 Su Cheng

The way things unfolded was somewhat surreal.

Jiu Yue felt that it wasn’t Ji Chaomian who was blind.

It was that everyone in the Court of Judicial Review had gone blind.

Su Yang and Su Cheng looked exactly the same.

But one was tall and one was short…

Oh, and Su Cheng had even deliberately thickened the soles of her shoes.

Still, one was a young woman and the other a man—how could no one have noticed?

Jiu Yue propped her chin on her hand, listening as Su Cheng explained everything.

Her small mouth rattled on endlessly.

She managed to describe an outright case of substitution—swapping one person for another—as nothing more than a desire to stand up for the innocent, to contribute her strength to the affairs of the Court of Judicial Review.

Jiu Yue was left completely stunned by her words.

Ji Chaomian let out a cold snort. “You had so many opportunities. Why didn’t you speak up earlier?”

Su Cheng secretly glanced at Ji Chaomian.

She immediately wilted.

Others might be easy to fool.

But Ji Chaomian…

She knew he wasn’t someone you could fool easily.

He was simply too intelligent.

The truth was, the matter really did begin when Ji Chaomian entered the Court of Judicial Review and noticed several case files written in different handwriting.

The Su family were merchants, owning a great deal of farmland and shops.

They could be considered wealthy traders.

But among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants ranked at the very bottom.

No matter how rich the Su family was, within the social hierarchy, they were still at the lowest level.

Every year, they had to offer up no small amount of gifts and silver to those officials clad in “official skins.”

So the Su family wanted Su Yang to become an official.

Unfortunately, Su Yang simply wasn’t cut out for studying.

Just like the Su family’s eldest son, Su Wang, he was only interested in doing business.

Still, he was clever enough, and in the end he managed to pass the provincial exam and became a juren.

Knowing he could never pass the higher examinations, he could only accept an appointed post.

Su Father pulled every string he could and spent an enormous amount of silver, eventually getting Su Yang placed in the prefectural yamen as a judicial clerk.

Though it was a low-ranking, insignificant post, he was still wearing official robes.

At least the family could say there was someone in the yamen.

However, Su Yang was utterly incompetent when it came to interrogating cases or handling investigations.

All along, it had been Su Cheng who secretly searched for clues from every angle.

And so Su Yang managed, without incident, to comfortably hold his post as a judicial clerk in the local prefectural yamen.

Who would have expected that Su Cheng’s outstanding investigative abilities would catch the attention of the Court of Judicial Review?

Soon after, Su Yang was transferred there.

And that was when Ji Chaomian discovered the problem.

At first, Ji Chaomian thought that the presence of two different handwritings in a judicial clerk’s case files meant someone was fabricating evidence, creating miscarriages of justice.

But later, he realized that every case handled by Su Yang—the evidence, testimonies, witnesses, and confessions—was impeccably complete.

Ji Chaomian developed an appreciation for talent and wanted to give him a promotion.

Yet whenever he discussed cases with Su Yang, sometimes Su Yang spoke fluently and clearly, and other times he stammered and fumbled.

Ji Chaomian felt this couldn’t go on.

He suspected that Su Yang might be resentful because, despite his excellence, he had never been promoted.

So he decided to have a proper talk with him.

Though he wasn’t a high-ranking official, he still had some influence when it came to the promotion of a mere judicial clerk.

Who would have thought that the moment he raised the subject today,

Su Yang would be so frightened that he turned around and fled?

Ji Chaomian hurried after him in a panic.

A talent like this couldn’t be lost.

And then came the scene Jiu Yue had witnessed.

Both Su Yang and Su Cheng were pale as death.

Just moments ago, Su Cheng had been eloquent and persuasive, her words flowing like pearls.

Now, however, she didn’t dare speak another word.

No matter how one looked at it, her cross-dressing and impersonation of Su Yang were undeniable facts.

So what if the Su family was wealthy?

Once such a matter came to light, what could she possibly do?

In the end, the fault lay in the fact that she was born a woman.

Her elder brother loved doing business.

But she loved solving cases and tracking down clues—she had even taught herself the most despised of skills: the knowledge of a coroner.

She…

She only wanted to speak for those who had died unjustly.

But so what if she was a woman?

She was meticulous, thoughtful, and thorough.

The Court of Judicial Review oversaw cases from across the entire empire.

Every case required its approval and supervision.

Whenever she reviewed a file and detected even the slightest doubt, she was willing to travel anywhere, from the far north to the deep south, to investigate.

Over the past two years, she had gone to so many places that even she herself couldn’t count them.

But she dared to swear with her hand over her heart—every case she had handled had not a single wrongful conviction.

Ji Chaomian looked at Su Cheng, then turned his gaze to Jiu Yue.

Ji Chaomian, Ji Yiqing, even Emperor Fengyuan and the Crown Prince—all of them were unlike many men of this era.

After listening to Su Cheng’s account, the first thing Ji Chaomian thought of was not the crime of substitution.

What came to mind was that her handwriting truly was excellent, and the cases had indeed been handled beautifully.

He didn’t even think, not once, what a pity she’s a woman.

He simply felt that Su Cheng was genuinely a rare talent.

Now that he had calmed down, Ji Chaomian put himself in her position.

If it were him, he wouldn’t want to be promoted either—the higher one rose, the greater the risk of exposure.

But leaving such a hidden danger buried here, sooner or later it might be exposed.

Ji Chaomian needed to think carefully about what to do.

He slowly rose to his feet.

“Let’s go, Sister-in-law. Second Brother should be getting off duty soon.”

Jiu Yue, who had been listening until she was drowsy, had completely forgotten that she’d originally come just to watch the excitement.

She hadn’t seen any excitement—she had nearly fallen asleep instead.

“Oh. Alright.”

With that, Jiu Yue took the lead and walked out.

Su Yang froze for a moment, then hurried after them a couple of steps, his voice flustered. “Ji… Lord Ji!”

Su Cheng, with her keen and perceptive heart, understood everything the moment she saw that neither Jiu Yue nor Ji Chaomian said a word.

She grabbed Su Yang’s arm. “Second Brother.”

Ji Chaomian turned his head and glanced back, his gaze falling on Su Cheng’s hand gripping Su Yang’s sleeve.

Su Cheng inexplicably released her hold.

Ji Chaomian withdrew his gaze. “What is it?”

Su Cheng stepped forward and performed a salute.

This was the first time she had ever made a young woman’s proper courtesy before Ji Chaomian.

“Respectfully seeing off the Princess, and Lord Ji.”

Ji Chaomian gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

Jiu Yue was already moving fast—by now, she was probably downstairs.

Once they were gone,

Su Yang collapsed into a chair with a thud, muttering, “It’s over… it’s all over…”

Su Cheng let out a soft laugh. “Second Brother, we’re fine.”

Su Yang froze. “H–How could that be?”

Su Cheng stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, Ji Chaomian’s carriage and Jiu Yue’s carriage, one after the other, departed from the street.

“Because they didn’t say anything.”

If they didn’t say anything this time, they wouldn’t say anything in the future either.

Su Yang walked to Su Cheng’s side. “It’s all Second Brother’s fault. I’m useless, dragging you into doing all this for me. You’re just a young girl…”

Su Cheng smiled faintly. “Second Brother, the Princess is also a young girl.”

Su Yang was stunned, recalling all the things Jiu Yue had done.

“Besides, Second Brother, you’re not useless. You’re excellent at managing accounts and doing business. If only you could go to the Ministry of Revenue.”

Su Yang immediately covered Su Cheng’s mouth. “What nonsense are you talking?!”

The Ministry of Revenue was nothing like the Court of Judicial Review.

It controlled all the silver in Great Qi.

Even the lowest-ranking official post there was not something one could easily obtain.

Back then, just to get him appointed as a judicial clerk in a county prefectural yamen, the Su family had spent an enormous amount of silver.

How could he dare to even dream of the Ministry of Revenue?

Su Cheng lowered her eyes. To say she wasn’t sad would be a lie.

Today, Ji Chaomian and Jiu Yue hadn’t said anything.

But the truth had already been exposed.

She could no longer go to the Court of Judicial Review.

If she did, and the matter were revealed again, it would inevitably implicate Jiu Yue and Ji Chaomian, who had covered for them.